Quality of Life Survey 2001 & 2007 by Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation

Quality of Life Survey 2001 & 2007 Focus on Safety, Health, and Housing

Understanding Community Residents’ Perceptions in San Diego’s Diamond Neighborhoods

Report prepared by: Institute for Public Health Graduate School of Public Health San Diego State University 6505 Alvarado Road #115 San Diego, California 92120 (619) 594-6812 http://iph.sdsu.edu October 2008

Report Partners

Quality of Life in the “Diamond” The Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation (JCNI) developed the Quality of Life Survey to understand trends in perceptions of community members living in the Diamond Neighborhoods of southeastern San Diego. By learning about the perceptions of a broad cross-section of residents about issues that may influence their quality of life – such as safety, availability of services, health, and housing – JCNI is able to frame its work to focus on key areas most relevant to the community. Factors that may influence a person’s quality of life include:

• Individual attitudes, values, behaviors, physical health status, and where someone lives. • Family, friends, and neighbors, including membership in social networks, perceived social support, and relationships between neighbors. • Quality of and engagement with organizations such as schools, clubs, workplaces, unions, and civic and religious institutions.

The World Health Organization (1997) defines quality of life as: “…an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns.”

• Physical characteristics of the neighborhood; availability of and proximity to local businesses, public services, and healthcare, and the quality of access; and community functioning. • Government policies and legislation.

54 TH

BROADWAY

M AD ER

RA DI O

Chollas View

North Encanto

69TH

Emerald Hills

HILLTOP

Mount Hope

LEY TOO

FEDERAL

Webster

MALLARD

ER AV WE

EW GAT

FE D

Oak Park

52ND

VI EW

DG E

EU C

LID

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OL LA S

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In 2001 and 2007, JCNI conducted the Quality of Life Survey (QOLS) by going door-to-door to survey community members throughout four neighborhoods located in the “Diamond” – Chollas View, Emerald Hills, Lincoln Park, and Valencia Park. These communities border the physical hub of the JCNI’s programmatic and redevelopment work, located around Market Creek Plaza, a primary area of economic and business development.

WOO DM

EU CLID

47 TH

Lincoln Park LOGAN

43 RD

NATIO NAL

South Encanto SKYLINE

Valencia Park

DIV

IS IO

65TH

Mountain View

61ST

OCE AN VIEW

45TH

IM PERIAL

MARKE T

805

Following is a summary of what the QOLS found in three highlighted areas: safety, health, and housing.

2007

In the last five years, violence in my neighborhood has...

Perceptions of Crime On average, community members perceived crime as an issue during both survey periods, but trends over time varied by neighborhood, age, and ethnicity differences. Overall, survey respondents were more likely to identify illegal drug dealers and users in their neighborhoods in 2007 than in 2001. All groups of respondents were significantly less likely to report police harassment as common in their neighborhoods in 2007 compared to 2001. In 2007, 66% of respondents reported feeling safe in their neighborhoods; however, only 35% agreed that they felt safe to walk alone at night in their community. Overall, 16% of respondents in 2007 reported recent participation in a neighborhood watch or block meeting, up 4% over 2001.

Data from the Automated Regional Justice Information System (ARJIS) shows that in the period between 2001 and 2006, there was a 16% decrease in the crime index (total violent crimes, burglary, and theft) across the four neighborhoods in the survey. Violent crime was down 29%, and property crime was down 7%. By neighborhood, the crime index was down 19% in Lincoln Park, 16% in Valencia Park, up .4% in Chollas View, and down 10% in Emerald Hills.

2007

46% In the last five years, violence in my neighborhood has...

34%

46%

34%

19% 19%

Decreased

Stayed about the same

Increased

Decreased

Stayed about the same

Increased

2007

In the last five years, safety in my neighborhood has...

2007

52% In the last five years, safety in my neighborhood has... 13%

52%

35% 35%

13% Decreased

Stayed about the same

Increased

Decreased

Stayed about the same

Increased

53% 36% No

24% 64% Yes

18%

2007

In your opinion, Very Poor your overall health for your age is...

o you exercise regularly?

Health Risk Perceptions

Poor

Fair

Good

Excellent

53%

In 2004, the most recent data from the

In 2007, community San Diego Alcohol County Public Health Services 24% Drugs members identified that 18% reflects higher rates of disease linked to Drugs Alcohol 64%the three biggest 8%health 4% risks obesity in southeastern San Diego than Yesto children younger than age 18 Obesity the rest ofCigarettes the County. In southeastern San Diego, there is a 14% higher rate in their neighborhoods to be: of coronary heart disease hospitalizations Very Poor andPoor Fair Good Excellent 1) drugs; 2) alcohol; 3) obesity; 2007 than County statistics, as well as 58% cigarettes and diabetes followed In your opinion, higher rate of diabetes hospitalizations Do you exercise in the ranking. your overall health for your age is... and 60% higher rate of death due to regularly?

36% No

diabetes. However, the incidence of 2007

TheDrugs three biggest health last five years,lung cancer, which is linked to smoking, AlcoholIn the53% risks to adults in their healthy food options in my neighborhood have... is actually 35% lower in southeastern Drugs Alcohol neighborhood age 18 and older San Diego than the County at large. 50% Cigarettes Obesity 24% to be 1) alcohol; 2) drugs; and 18% 3) cigarettes; diabetes and obesity 36% 64% 8% 4% followed in the ranking. Yes 14%

36% No

Very Poor

Fair 2007 Good 2007

Poor

In your opinion, In overall the last health five years, your for your Decreased age is...

healthy food options in my neighborhood have...

53%

50%

Drugs

24%

Alcohol

14%

36%

8% Obesity 4% Decreased

Very Poor

Stayed

about the same Poor Fair

Increased

Good

Health & Lifestyles Excellent

Stayed Sixty-four percent Increased about the same

of Do you exercise respondents reported regularly? exercising regularly, but only about half of all Alcohol respondents thought that other people in 36% 18% Drugs No the neighborhood Cigarettes also exercise on a 64% regular basis. About Yes 60% of respondents Excellent identified places in their neighborhoods to exercise.

you

Very Poor

2007

In the last five years, have... Alcohol Drugs healthy food options in my neighborhood Alcohol

50%

Drugs

Drugs Cigarettes

Obesity

Alcohol

36%

Obesity

14%

Decreased

2007 Stayed

In the last five years,about the same hy food options in my neighborhood have... 50% 36%

Increased

In the last fi healthy food options in m

Housing Respondents also had increasingly positive perceptions relative to housing between the two survey periods, including the ability of residents to get loans to improve their homes, increased awareness of local housing assistance and services, and a higher rating of these services. Additionally, over 56% of respondents in 2007 agreed or strongly agreed that community members could get loans to purchase homes.

Data from the same time period showed: ❖❖ Mortgage data supports the positive perception that 2007 QOLS respondents had relative to the increased ability to get loans to purchase or improve homes between 2001 and 2007. The number of home loan denials decreased by 66% when comparing 2001 to 2007 data. The number of refinancing loans that were denied in the neighborhood also decreased significantly. The average value of the refinancing loans in 2007 also more than doubled when compared to the 2001 average value. * ❖❖ The increased ability to access home loans in the neighborhood may have seemed like a positive sign in 2007, but in retrospect it may have actually led to the housing market crisis at the end of the decade. ❖❖ In 2001, when the first QOLS was conducted, the housing market in San Diego was rebounding from a bottoming out which occurred in the mid-1990s. The average sales price in the neighborhood in 2001 was $200,000. As the second QOLS was completed in June 2007, the average purchase price in the neighborhood was above $400,000. This was double the average purchase price when the survey was conducted in 2001, but below the 2005 peak price of $477,000. This trend is consistent with what was happening in the San Diego region overall.

❖❖ The accelerated increase in housing values was due to a number of factors – low interest rates, a good economy, the availability of credit and a limited supply of housing. In low income neighborhoods in particular it was the availability of credit, with the rise of the subprime mortgage market, which led to the rise in housing prices. Subprime loans offer financing to those who do not meet traditional lending standards. ❖❖ It wasn’t until months after the 2007 QOLS was completed that home prices began to decrease sharply. This dramatic drop in the housing market and the economy in general has been linked to the same subprime mortgages that helped create the rise in values.** ❖❖ San Diego County’s notices of default, which is the start of the foreclosure process, rose 128 percent in 2007 and foreclosures rose 353 percent. ***

* Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Aggregated Statistics ** “What Subprime Has Giveth, Subprime Has Taketh Away” Voice of San Diego, November 28, 2007 www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/02/04/ housing/903dataparty112807.txt *** “Surging foreclosure rate drives latest sales tactic” San Diego Union Tribune, January 27, 2008 www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080127/ news_1m27tour.html

Average Purchase Price Diamond Zip Codes

Conclusion Overall, perceptions of neighborhood change remained positive in 2007, with over 50% of respondents stating that their community had changed for the better over the past five years. From 2001 to 2007, perceptions about how the neighborhood will change in the future improved significantly among 1) adults over age 25; 2) respondents in households with children younger than age 18; 3) Hispanics; 4) females; 5) those who had lived in the neighborhood for five years or longer; and 6) residents of Chollas View and 7) Lincoln Park. Fifty-four percent of participants in 2007 stated that they planned to live in the neighborhood â&#x20AC;&#x153;forever;â&#x20AC;? an additional 8% responded that they would live there until retirement.

Funded by The California Endowment